The Effects of Society on Criminality
By MICHAEL SMITH 04/13/2013
The structure of society and its degree of organization are important factors in how they contribute to criminality. Within society there are negative influences of the social environment that contribute to and predispose some people to commit crimes. There are three types of social structure theories that focus on crime and they are social disorganization, strain theory, and culture conflict. These theories examine social structure, social process, social life and how they influence criminal behavior of groups of people. In America the government, television, institutions, families, and communities to name a few play a huge role in the world years ago and today in why people commit crimes. Society is defined in one dictionary as an organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. Also in another dictionary defined as a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct. These definitions alone alienate some people apart and characterize or place them into particular groups. This labeling by society generally has a place for all individuals but is their labeling right or wrong overall? This labeling not only places individuals into a group setting but also tends to eliminate certain individuals or groups of people from particular groups, activities or communities etc., based on age, sex, religious preference, economic status and other cultural differences. When this is done it can cause people to act out against the individual or group in a negative way through violent or other criminal behavior. In reference to criminology we can identify three key sociological explanations for crime they are: crime is the result of an individual’s location within the structure of society, crime is the end product of
The structure of society and its degree of organization are important factors in how they contribute to criminality. Within society there are negative influences of the social environment that contribute to and predispose some people to commit crimes. There are three types of social structure theories that focus on crime and they are social disorganization, strain theory, and culture conflict. These theories examine social structure, social process, social life and how they influence criminal behavior of groups of people. In America the government, television, institutions, families, and communities to name a few play a huge role in the world years ago and today in why people commit crimes. Society is defined in one dictionary as an organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. Also in another dictionary defined as a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct. These definitions alone alienate some people apart and characterize or place them into particular groups. This labeling by society generally has a place for all individuals but is their labeling right or wrong overall? This labeling not only places individuals into a group setting but also tends to eliminate certain individuals or groups of people from particular groups, activities or communities etc., based on age, sex, religious preference, economic status and other cultural differences. When this is done it can cause people to act out against the individual or group in a negative way through violent or other criminal behavior. In reference to criminology we can identify three key sociological explanations for crime they are: crime is the result of an individual’s location within the structure of society, crime is the end product of
References: Schmalleger, Frank Criminology Today: An Integrative introduction Pearson, 2012 Allen & albert Hughes Menace II Society (film), 1993 Yuh-Yuh Li, M.S. Social Structure, Social Control, and Crime in Rural Communities: A Test of Social Disorganization Theory Dissertation; The Ohio State University, 2009 Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Approach Lawrence E. Cohen and Marcus Felson University of Illinois, Urbana; American Sociological Review 1979, vol. 44 (August): 588-608 Encyclopedia of Race and Crime Helen Taylor Greene and Shaun L. Gabbidon 2009